Performance can be affected by……………..

Anxiety & Sports Performance Sports and performance anxiety often go hand-in-hand Have you ever "choked" during an important sporting event or felt your nerves get in the way of your athletic performance? While many athletes become "pumped up" during competition, when the rush of adrenaline is interpreted as anxiety, and negative thoughts begin to swirl, it can have devastating effects on your ability to perform Before you learn how to manage the symptoms of anxiety during competitions, it is important to understand the relationship between anxiety and athletic performance Some examples of professional sporting ‘Chokes’ – Kevin Keegan, New Zealand Rugby Team, AC Milan 2005 CL Final, Greg Norman 96 Masters, Any England Football Penalty Taker!

Testing Anxiety in Sport By analysing an athlete's responses to a series of statements about how she/he feels in a competitive situation it is possible to determine their level of anxiety A test that provides such functionality is the Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT) that was developed by Martens, Vealey, and Burton in 1990

The SCAT Test Sport Competition Anxiety Test Assess how you feel about the following situations when you compete in sports and games, using the following scale: Hardly ever A Sometimes B Often C

Results Sport Competition Anxiety Test: Items 1, 4, 7, 10, and 13 are filler items used to help disguise the purpose of the test; cross them out as they will not be used for scoring. Items 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 12, 14 and 15 are scored in the following manner: hardly ever =1 pt., sometimes =2 pts, often =3 pts. For items 6 and 11, the scoring is reversed: hardly ever=3 pts, sometimes=2 pts, often=1 pt. Simply total the numbers for these items to determine your trait anxiety score, which ranges from a low of 10, to a high of 30. ______= Your SCAT Score

Coping Strategies For Sports Competition Anxiety Visualization Visualization, also known as imagery or mental rehearsal, involves imagining yourself successfully competing at an athletic event Goal Setting Choose goals that are achievable but challenging, and when possible, break tasks down into smaller parts with a series of short-term goals. Focus on What You Can Control If you find yourself worrying about who is in the crowd watching you, or that the other competitors are better than you remind yourself that these are aspects of the competition that are out of your control. What you can control is your own performance, how well prepared you are

If that still doesn’t help you, think of this! Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere Glenn Turner